New York City Is Giving Zero-Interest Loans to Women Business Owners

Alexis Krase is one of 40 New York–based entrepreneurs who have raised some $280,000 in capital using “WE Fund: Crowd,” a city initiative designed to champion women business owners. Any woman in New York can apply for a zero-interest loan of up to $10,000 on this Kiva crowdfunding page, and the city will fund the first 10 percent of the money she needs — lending with no fees, no interest, and no minimum credit score. Mayor Bill de Blasio has said the $3 million program aims to reach 500 women over the next three years.

Krase, who owns the Williamsburg plus-size boutique Plus Bklyn, has been cast as a model example of the program’s benefits. Hoping to design her own clothing line, she struggled to find a loan through a bank. But on “We Fund: Crowd,” she raised $10,000 in about two weeks, which allowed her to meet with a local patternmaker and begin designing a collection of colorful print dresses and basics in sizes up to 5x. “This money is everything. It is funding my dreams,” she told the Cut. “I’m hoping it will catapult our small business to a place where we can potentially produce clothing at a national scale.”